Gun-barrel and analogous object.



inure snares arana onnion.

FRANZ HATLANEK, OF KLADNO, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

No Drawng.

GUN-BARREL AND ANALOGOUS onanc'r.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed April 10, 19 11.

Analogous Objects, of which the following is a specification.

It is a well known fact that at high temperatures iron and steel possess less power of resistance to every kind of mechanical strain than they do at normal temperatures.

The result of this fact is that for many purposes of use. the desired end cannot be accomplished in a satisfactory manner even with the kinds of special steel already known at the present time. Moreover further increase in the eificiency even of thebest injurious.

special steels is.desirable in many branches on account of the prevailing competition in respect of economy. The repeated heatings which take place in the use of articles of iron and steel are however particularly When such repeated beatings occur, constantly repeated heatings and coolings must obviously take place in a portion of the article, such beatings and coolings occurring mostly in a probably comparatively thin layer on the outer "surface. continual expansion and contraction and reexpansion' and re-construction .of' the portion of the article subjected to the heating.

\ I In consequence of this continual expansion and contraction there ensues in time a destructlon, or change in the structure or texture, of thematerial, which is finally no longer equal to these repeated strains and still less capable of enduringany other additional strains. I e I Articles of the kind in question are barrels of guns and cannon, those parts of eirplosion motors which are subjected to the gases of combustion, and like parts. An extensive improvement in such steel and lIOIl articles can be attained, if the kinds of iron and; steel employed for such articles be made.

alloyed according to the present invention with copper. The amount of copper to bev added depends upon the carbon content of the steel, and the other metals which may be already alloyed therewith. In most cases an addition of about 5% of copper may be It is not sufiicient however for thepurposes of this invention simply to use o dinary steel containing a comparatively This heating and cooling causes a.

great quantity of copper, say 0.1%to 0.2%, as an impurity, which kind of steel is frequently produced industrially for general purposes, and is the result of an already existent higher copper content of the ore per se. The action of so small an amount of copper yields no discernible eflt'ect for the above purpose. Onthe contrary a steel with a considerably higher copper content must be employed, and therefore the steel must be intentionally alloyed with copper unless ores extraordinarily rich in copper, such as have hitherto not been used in the manufacture of iron and steel, can be employed. To cite a numerical example, about 4% to 5% of- Cumay be added to a steel whichis used at the presenttime for the barrels of cannon and which contains about 0.45% C, 0.5% Cr and 3% Ni. If on account of the hardening properties of the copper the percentage of carbon be decreased below 0.3%, a material will be obtained which will yield almost the same or, in View of the special purpose to which the material is to be apt There is however, especially in the case of these parts of firearms which are brought into contact with the powder gases, .such for example as the barrels of cannon or guns, ,the actions or looks thereof and the like, a second cause, which is quite difierent from 'the'one above described, and through which such parts can be rendered useless, namely the rust-forming action of the residues from the combustion of the explosive substances employed.' I It is well known that the residues of the combustion of the explosive substances employed adhere to those parts of firearms which are brought into contact with the powder gases and cause rusting of these parts, where they are made of steel and are not thoroughly cleaned very soon after shooting. This rusting action is so powerful that the spots and pits of rust, which in firearms.

form when the weapon is insufficiently cleaned, impair its shooting accuracy to such an extent as to make the weapon quite useless. This -rusting becomes still worse if accompanied by moisture for which reason it makes itselfevident'with particular u npleasantness in damp weather. Now, ex periments which have been carried out show that nickel steel alloyed with copper possesses, in addition to the power of resistance impartedto it against repeated heating and cooling by alloying it with copper, an additional and surprising power of resisting the rusting action of nitric acid, nitric anhydrid, carbonic acid and moisture, whereby a steel of this kind is particularly suitable for resisting the rust producing action of the residues of the explosive substances used This power of resistance to rusting becomes specially evident when the percentageof nickel is made slightly higher, notwithstanding the fact that it is well known that nickel possesses little power of resistance to nitric acid. It has been found that a steel containing 7% of nickel in addition to 4% of copper remains practically free from rust being subjected for days to the simultaneous action, of the vapors of nitric acid vnitric anhydrid, carbonic acid and a moist atmosphere.

With regard to the manufacture of a steel of the composition forming the subject mat: ter of this invention, it is advisable/co use as pure copper as possible as copper frebest melted simultaneously with the steel if on the other hand the steel be manufac= tured in a Martin or electrical furnace it is If the steel advisable not to put the copper into the furf nace until the end of the process, as it is easier in the absence of the copper to deter; mine the progress of the metallurgical proc ess by the aid of tests taken from the bath.

Earlier addition of the copper is of course not impossible. The nickel for the production of the nickel steel containing copper may of course be added in exactly the same way and at the same time as in the production of a nickel steel which does not .contain any copper. An alloy of copper and nickel may of course also be used for the production of the copper nickel steel.

I claim as my invention:

As a new article of manufacture, a gun barrel or analogous object subject to repeated heating during use made of metal composed principally of ordinary steel alloyed with form 4: to 5 per cent. of copper.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

4 FRANZ HATLANEK. Witnesses:

THEODORE HAR'rUNo, ADOLPH FISCHER. 

